General information | |
---|---|
Location | Ashchurch, Tewkesbury England |
Grid reference | SO926333 |
Managed by | Great Western Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | ASC |
Classification | DfT category F2 |
History | |
Original company | Birmingham and Gloucester Railway |
Pre-grouping | Midland Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
Key dates | |
24 June 1840 [1] | Opened as Ashchurch |
15 November 1971 | Station closed |
1 June 1997 | Reopened as Ashchurch for Tewkesbury |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 102,688 |
2019/20 | 108,234 |
2020/21 | 17,576 |
2021/22 | 68,810 |
2022/23 | 81,830 |
Location | |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Ashchurch for Tewkesbury is a railway station serves the market town of Tewkesbury and the village of Ashchurch in Gloucestershire,England. The station is located less than 1⁄4 mile (400 m) from junction 9 of the M5 motorway and located on the main Bristol–Birmingham main line 7+1⁄4 miles (11.7 km) north of Cheltenham Spa and was opened on 1 June 1997 by Railtrack. There are regular bus connections from the station to Tewkesbury town centre, Gloucester Transport Hub and Cheltenham.
The original Ashchurch station was a stop on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, authorised in 1836, and whose central section from Bromsgrove to Cheltenham, including Ashchurch, was opened on 24 June 1840 (the line was open throughout a few months later). [2] It subsequently became part of the Midland Railway, later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and finally passed to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was then closed by the British Railways Board in November 1971. [3]
Two fatal accidents occurred near the station prior to its original closure – the first on 8 January 1929 [4] and the second forty years later on 8 March 1969. [5]
The station reopened by Railtrack on 1 June 1997 on the site of the earlier station which had lain derelict for 26 years. [12] Only one small ruined red-brick shed remains of the original station buildings. In the post-war period, the station had been used both for passenger services and for cargo loading for the nearby army base. A number of cargo sidings still exist nearby. Ashchurch was once a railway centre of some importance, as it was the junction for two branches, one each side of the main line:
At this time Ashchurch station was then renamed to Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, only for it to be also closed in 1971 having been unstaffed since 14 September 1970. [15] The once sizeable goods yard here had previously closed on 1 June 1964, though MOD traffic continued to be handled. The buildings were demolished in June 1972, and the main line platforms and footbridge were removed early in 1974. There used to be a connecting curve linking the two branches, crossing the main line on the level just north of the station & creating a layout which may have been unique in Britain, but this curve closed in December 1957. There was an extensive goods yard to the south, and to the north west a large grain store. [16]
The remains of the old lines are still apparent, with much of its infrastructure (such as bridges) still in existence. The old connecting curve and the two branches it served can clearly be traced on a map. With much of the Ashchurch to Tewkesbury line now being used as a Cycle and Footpath, this section proved valuable during the 2007 United Kingdom floods as it was the only dry route into and out of Tewkesbury at the time. [17] Work to remove this embankment began in 2013 as it has claimed that its removal will reduce the scale of flooding in the area.
When reopened in 1997, there were considerably more northbound services, with many CrossCountry or former Central Trains services from Cardiff calling there. However, in the early 2000s, these services were withdrawn, reducing the usefulness of the station. Passengers wishing to travel to Birmingham usually had to travel south to Cheltenham Spa, change onto a northbound train, then return northwards, passing through Ashchurch for Tewkesbury without stopping. From December 2006, some peak time services to and from Birmingham were reintroduced. However, from December 2008, CrossCountry cut the service on weekdays from 7 to 4 northbound services and from 4 (5 on Fridays) to 2 southbound services.
In addition to the A46 road bridge, which does not provide access to the southbound (eastern) platform – the only access to that, including wheelchair access, is by a ramped footbridge over the lines at the station itself. [18] A pushbutton computerised service provides real-time next train announcements. There is a large car park situated adjacent to the northbound (western) platform. The nearest bus stop (from where the Stagecoach West services 41 and 42 depart to Cheltenham via Tewkesbury and service 71 departs to Gloucester) is in the car park on the west side of the station.
As the station is unstaffed, tickets must be purchased on the train itself or in advance.
The station is served by two train operating companies:
On Sundays, the service is limited to five trains each way and is provided entirely by GWR.
In 2010, the Ashchurch and Tewkesbury District Rail Promotion Group began campaigning for an improved service to the station. They highlighted the close proximity of the station to Junction 9 of the M5 and the free car-park as being attractive to potential commuters. Cross Country trains run three trains per hour in each direction through without stopping and appear to have the potential capacity in the timetable to stop. The group also point out that official figures from the office of rail regulation show 67,000 passengers buying tickets to or from the station in 2008–09; most other stations with that level of patronage have at least an hourly service. The need for an hourly service between Worcester and Cheltenham has previously been noted by other passenger groups. [22]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cheltenham Spa | Great Western Railway Bristol Temple Meads – Worcester Forgate Street | Worcester Shrub Hill | ||
Cheltenham Spa | CrossCountry Cardiff – Birmingham New Street – Nottingham | Worcestershire Parkway | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Cleeve | Birmingham and Gloucester Railway | Bredon | ||
Tewkesbury | ||||
Terminus | Midland Railway Evesham loop line | Beckford Line and station closed | ||
Tewkesbury Line and station closed | Midland Railway Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway | Terminus |
The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for 32 mi (51 km) from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs of Birmingham in between. Services are operated by West Midlands Trains.
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) was the first name of the railway linking the cities in its name and of the company which pioneered and developed it; the line opened in stages in 1840, using a terminus at Camp Hill in Birmingham. It linked with the Bristol and Gloucester Railway in Gloucester, but at first that company's line was broad gauge, and Gloucester was a point of the necessary but inconvenient transhipment of goods and passengers onto 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in gauge that became the national standard. Nearly all of the original main line remains active as a "trunk" route, also known as an arterial route or line.
Cheltenham Spa railway station serves the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. Situated on the Bristol-Birmingham main line, it is managed by Great Western Railway, despite most services being operated by CrossCountry which does not manage any stations. It is located about one mile from the town centre. The official name of the town is simply Cheltenham but, when the station was renamed in 1925, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway chose to add Spa to the station name. It is a key regional interchange and is the busiest station in Gloucestershire, as well as one of the busiest railway stations in South West England.
Gloucester, formerly known as Gloucester Central, is a railway station serving the city of Gloucester in England. It is located 114 miles 4 chains (183.5 km) west of London Paddington, via Stroud.
Cam and Dursley railway station is a railway station serving the large village of Cam and the market town of Dursley in Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the main Bristol-Birmingham line, between Yate and Gloucester, at a site close to where Coaley Junction railway station was situated from 1856 to 1965.
Bournville railway station serves the Bournville area of Birmingham, England. It is on the Cross-City Line which runs from Redditch/Bromsgrove to Lichfield via Birmingham New Street.
Kings Norton Railway Station serves the Kings Norton and Cotteridge areas of Birmingham, England. It lies on the Cross-City Line from Redditch and Bromsgrove through Birmingham New Street to Lichfield. The station's main entrance is located on Pershore Road South, the A441.
Ashchurch is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashchurch Rural, in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the town of Tewkesbury, 11 mi (18 km) southwest of Evesham, 10 mi (16 km) north of Cheltenham, 13 mi (21 km) north-north-east of Gloucester and 10 mi (16 km) south of Pershore.
Evesham railway station is in the market town of Evesham in Worcestershire, England. It is between Honeybourne and Pershore stations on the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Hereford via Worcester and Great Malvern. It is operated by Great Western Railway. Trains to London Paddington take about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Beckford is a small village on the main Cheltenham to Evesham Road, five miles north-east of Tewkesbury, on the Worcestershire—Gloucestershire border.
Redditch railway station serves the town of Redditch, North Worcestershire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Cross-City Line 14.5 miles (23 km) south of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains. Redditch station sits at the end of a single track branch line from Barnt Green which forms part of the Cross-City Line. The line used to continue south to Ashchurch and also Evesham but this was closed in the 1960s.
Northfield railway station serves the Northfield area of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line, and is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all of the rail services that serve it.
Barnt Green railway station serves the village of Barnt Green, North Worcestershire, England. It is situated 9+1⁄2 miles (15.3 km) south west of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains.
Alvechurch railway station serves the village of Alvechurch in North Worcestershire, England. It is on the Cross-City Line 11+1⁄4 miles (18 km) southwest of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains. The station itself is an unstaffed station.
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station is one of two railway stations serving the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England. The other station is Worcester Foregate Street in the city centre. A third station, Worcestershire Parkway, is located just outside the city to the south-east. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, operating here under the West Midlands Railway brand, and it is also served by Great Western Railway.
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, England. It is located just to the south-west of Droitwich Spa Junction of the Worcester to Leamington Spa Line and the Worcester to Birmingham New Street line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all trains serving it.
Hinton on the Green is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire in England. It is situated at the foot of Bredon Hill, about two miles south of Evesham.
Tewkesbury railway station was a station on the Midland Railway between Great Malvern and Evesham.
Broom Junction was a railway station serving the village of Broom in Warwickshire, England. It was an interchange for both the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway and the Barnt Green to Ashchurch line.
The Evesham branch line is a mostly disused English railway line running from Barnt Green via Redditch, Alcester and Evesham to Ashchurch. It was sometimes known as the Gloucester loop line of the Midland Railway.